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Brazil
The United States of Brazil together form the largest country in South America. Ever since the Civil War that ended the old status quo of the Republic, Brazil has enjoyed relative peace mainly due to its economic recovery. Brazil borders the West Indies Federation, The Netherlands, and Venezuela to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to the south, Bolivia to the southwest, Peru to the west and Colombia the northwest. History After the abolition of slavery in 1888, the ideals of Republicanism gained much support from across all regions of the Brazilian Empire and created political tension due to the elites who had lost much in the Abolition. This culminated in the militarily-supported declaration of the Republic of Brazil, in 1889, despite the popularity of the monarchy among most of the common folk. The 1891 constitution was based on the US constitution, granting considerable autonomy to the states and, under the first elected presidents, the domestic situation stabilized under the agreement of the oligarchical leaders of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, in what was deemed the Coffee and Milk policy, for Cattle ranchers and Coffee plantation owners were the true power behind the young republic. In an effort to alleviate the public standing of the new government, Brazil's foreign minister, José Maria da Silva Paranhos Júnior, the last Baron of Rio Branco, oversaw the extension of the Brazilian territory through a series of treaties with Britain, France, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina and Uruguay, which saw the country's territory grow by over 250000 square miles. The presumed gain with Acre and other rubber-rich areas was greatly mitigated by the increased production of that commodity by Great Britain in the same period of time. The Republic was also fraught with systemic weaknesses. Many revolts, some pro-monarchy, others pro-provincial autonomy, happened during the Old Republic, such as the Federalist Riograndense Revolution and the Great Navy Revolt. The system of non-secret ballots meant that local leadership could easily and trivially force their constituents to vote for a candidate of their choosing, and effectively made elections a formality, with establishment candidates often reaching more than 80% of valid votes. The population was, therefore, largely unrepresented by democratic institutions. In addition, during this period Brazil engaged in a major naval race with Chile and Argentina, the other major military powers of South America, the so-called South American Dreadnought Race. The purchase of the Minas Gerais class battleships, São Paulo and Minas Gerais,'' created immense regional tension and contributed to increasing distrust between the ABC nations. With the start of the Weltkrieg, Brazil kept a policy of strict neutrality. There were worries that if one of the ABC nations joined the war, one of the others would join on the opposing sides. In addition, the then foreign minister Lauro Müller saw cooperation with Germany as preferable than to the Entente. As the war intensified during the Rodrigues Alves government (1918-1922), Brazil's economic relationship with the US deepened, as did both countries' pro-neutrality stance. However, expectations of economic improvement did not come true after the War as it was hoped for, and the economic situation of the nation started to falter. Many Anarchist and Syndicalist movements, inspired by the revolutions in Russia, France, and Italy, formed and acted during the Rodrigues Alves and Arthur Bernardes (1922-1926) administrations, and became a significant part of politics on the cities of Rio and São Paulo. Small revolts happened in São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul in 1924, both with a mostly indeterminate ideological background but with some degree of support from locals, as the economic issues worsened. During these revolts, Getúlio Vargas started his high profile political career, even offering to mediate between barricaded rebels and the Rio Grande do Sul state government. Matters became far worse in 1925. Not only did Brazil's chief economic partners, the USA and Great Britain, fall into immense economic disarray but Syndicalist, Anarchist, and the rapidly ascending Integralist movements all spread as unemployment rose and goods became scarce. The political situation also fell through, as the longstanding agreement that kept the Coffee-Milk balance at play was put in jeopardy because both São Paulo and Minas Gerais launched each their own candidates for the 1926 elections. This was caused by the collapse of foreign trade making each look only after their own interests. And so the stage was set for the fall of the Old Republic. The country fell into extreme disarray after Fernando de Melo was elected president, and after months of fast-rising tension, Federal troops trespassed into São Paulo to deal with a small clerical revolt with Integralist motivations which had fled away from Minas Gerais, and São Paulo state president Washington Luis was shot dead after publicly walking off parliament and berating the Mineiros as seeking to take full control of Brazil. The chaos had turned into a civil war as each of the States gathered militias to fend off uprisings, and some readied to fight the others. São Paulo had widespread support in its war against the Federal Government; especially important was that of Northern and Eastern state governors led by João Pessoa, and the Rio Grande do Sul state, whose border with Argentina meant it possessed disproportionately strong military for such a small state. This support, coupled with its manufacturing and monetary advantages and the mutiny of the Federal Navy, resulted in the War ending in a victory for the rebels, and Fernando de Melo resigning in favour of Borges de Medeiros, who briefly ruled over the republic and transitioned into the current constitution. Ever since this traumatic year of 1927, the republic has transformed in many ways. Its economic axis is strong, albeit slowly, shifting towards a more urban and less agrarian economy. Many new companies and enterprises have arisen in the last decade, and the slow recovery is not extended to most of the great Coffee plantations, who still experience quite meagre profits. Secret voting changed the rules of the political game dramatically, and now parties are more split along ideological than local lines, especially among the urban electorate. João Pessoa was president from 1928 to 1932, and during these four years, his popularity signaled the rise of a new type of politics in Brazil, based on courting the people's votes rather than solely relying on regional leadership. Otávio Mangabeira, former state president of Bahia, won the election in 1932, with strong representation in his own state, most of the Northeast, South and São Paulo, in what seems to signal the end of what is now called the Old Republic as two presidents in a row were democratically elected. However as the 1936 elections approach, political radicalism rises as Syndicalists, Anarchists and Integralists continue to claim the Republic is failed state that barely exerts any control over the states of Brazil. Politics Brazil's political situation changed dramatically with the institution of secret voting. Many movements exist now across state barriers defending several different positions on how the New Republic should be, and some defend complete rebuilding from the ground up. The Republican and Liberal parties are the main political forces; the Republicans are often more in favour of autonomy in some areas and state oversight in the economy, a view not shared by liberals. The Democratic Left is an umbrella alliance, made up of many left-wing politicians who seek to improve the Republic and reform it rather than advocating revolution. Rallied around João Mangabeira, the DL is the only leftist movement with enough traction to be deemed as a significant contender in the upcoming 1936 elections, as the rift between Anarchists and Syndicalists grew larger after failed uprisings in 1925 and during the Civil War itself. The Integralist ideology is also very common in Brazil, and while not openly admitting it to avoid outlawing of the party, is evidently Monarchical and Antidemocratic. The Monarchy fell 40 years ago, but the wounds of that still linger in the memory of many Brazilians, and many more simply see the Republic as a failed experiment which resulted in famine and war. Integralist volunteers helped both feed the poor and to contain syndicalist revolts across the nation in the last decade, and are quite rapidly growing. They defend the re-establishment of the Monarchy, and increasing even further provincial and municipal autonomy, much like their Portuguese brethren. After the war, the claimant to the throne, Pedro Henrique de Bragança, was allowed to come back home to Brazil and is quite keen on cooperating with the Integralist movement. Syndicalism and Integralism also have deep penetration in the Military, as Tenentes and Civil War veterans all have something to say about the current political situation. '''President': Otávio Mangabeira Vice-President: João Neves da Fontoura Chief of Foreign Affairs: Felix Pacheco Minister of Finance: Waldir Pires Minister of Interior: Ernesto Simões Filho Military 'Army' Brazil's army can be more accurately described as twenty or so different state militias, all armed by their state governments. They all have invested in buying new equipment after the end of the civil war, for many fear that it could happen again. However, the federal army still formally exists, and any potential invader will soon find that Brazil can quickly unite if pressed to fight for its independence. In conventional terms, only 7 divisions are currently combat-able under Brazil's army. 'Navy' Brazil's navy has always been the nation's pride. The two Minas Gerais battleships are, in turn, the Navy's pride, and they almost single-handedly kickstarted the South American Dreadnought Race. The navy is quite capable when it comes to fighting other threatening states in South America, but cannot be compared to that of Major Powers 'Air Force' The Brazilian Air Force began during the Civil War. Bombing and scouting runs were made over São Paulo and the state of Rio, and many airmen rose to prominence during then. While quite outdated and small, it's easily South America strongest and best-trained air force. Foreign Relations Brazil has, * Very good relations with the United States and Portugal. * Friendly relations with Germany and Paraguay. * Unfriendly relations with Argentina and Chile. Economy The economics of Brazil has been for 400 years export focused, with crops varying according to area and international demand. In the past 50 years, coffee has reached immense dominance over other export crops, with powerful coffee barons creating veritable small empires under they sway. Their alliance with cattle barons to establish political dominance as dubbed the Coffee and Milk policy and their fate became intertwined with that of politics. However, in recent years, the loss of profit for coffee has led many such agricultural magnates to diversify their efforts and to invest in a nascent yet rising industrial sector. While still a far cry from that of the Great Powers of the world, this process has only just begun in the past decade, and still much remains unregulated, such as urban working conditions, which naturally has led to some degree of unrest. However, the economic damage of the civil war, especially in the borders between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, is still significant, especially in regards to infrastructure, as many railways were sabotaged during that conflict. In its northernmost areas, the economy still is much less developed, especially in states where rubber is still the main productive commodity. While these areas have potential for other economic practices, sparse population and poor mapping makes prospecting for minerals a daunting task Culture Brazil's history is at a turning point, and so is its cultural landscape. As urbanization comes to a peak, and opposites ideas meet in both debates and on the streets, many centuries old conventions are being challenged by both urban elites and the migrating workforce, even if in different ways. One development of note and one with significant political consequences is the rise of Modernism among urban intellectuals, especially in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. While few in number, the influence of this clique in culture is tangible, as is their influence in the press, and, as heavy francophiles, most lean heavily to left-wing. Their political clout seems restricted to urban areas, but their cultural influence is far outreaching and has grown rapidly in the past ten years. See also *Argentina *United States *Portugal Category:Countries Category:South American countries